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The Queensland Government has referred the clearing of tens of thousands of hectares of bushland on Cape York to the Commonwealth, calling on it to stop the bulldozers.

Last month the ABC revealed that just days before the January election Campbell Newman's LNP government approved the clearing of nearly 32,000 hectares of land on Olive Vale station, in a decision that was not publicly announced.

In response to the ABC's story, Queensland deputy premier Jackie Trad ordered her department to investigate the approval, saying the authorisation "while the caretaker conventions were in place is a matter of great concern to me".

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She told Parliament the state could not intervene now that approval had been granted, so she asked the Federal Government to stop the bulldozers.

"This is a damning assessment of the failed policies of the Newman government, which have allowed protected vegetation to be cleared for spurious and illegitimate reasons," she said.

Conservationists say the land in and around Olive Vale is worthy of world heritage listing, is home to 17 listed threatened species, and includes important rivers flowing into the Great Barrier Reef.

"The Olive Vale clearing is the largest single permit that we're aware of being granted for high value agriculture... [the approval process has been] very secretive," the Wilderness Society's Tim Seeling said.

The company that owns the station, Olive Vale Pastoral, told the ABC last month that the clearing would help create dozens of jobs on Cape York.

"Initially, it will be to supplement our grazing operation, rather than clearing land just to grow grass. It's a huge opportunity for the north."

On Thursday the deputy premier revealed the results of her department's investigation.

She said that while caretaker conventions were not contravened, the application by Olive Vale's owners "failed to meet the required criteria for High Value Agriculture".

She added that the investigation also found errors in the assessment of the project's financial viability.

"The applicant's report [included] very optimistic indicators of the project's financial viability which could not be justified," Ms Trad said.

The investigation found the correct decision from the assessment process should have been that the purpose of the clearing could not have been High Value Agriculture.

The deputy premier said the Palaszczuk Government had no power to stop the bulldozers, so she had written to Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt referring the clearing at Olive Vale to determine whether it should constitute a "controlled action".

"If Minister Hunt determines that the clearing now underway is a controlled action, then the Commonwealth has the power to seek a Federal Court injunction to stop the bulldozers ... right now the bulldozers are already clear felling at Olive Vale, destroying habitat and vegetation that should be preserved."

The Wilderness Society's Tim Seelig said the bulldozers had already flattened many hectares of bushland.

"Look, it's horrific frankly. You can see bulldozers and chains. This is old-school Queensland land clearing, you know in the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era. It's devastating the landscape and it's frightening. Our belief is that they're clearing as quickly as they possibly can. They know there is a spotlight on Olive Vale clearing."

In a letter replying to the deputy premier's request for Commonwealth intervention, Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the clearing was a matter that fell under Queensland law.

"You would be in breach of your duties should you fail to enforce them," the minister wrote. "My understanding of Queensland law is that if, as minister, you fail to do so, this would be a serious matter."

But Mr Hunt said he had instructed his department to investigate whether the land clearing on Olive Vale station complied with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

"To that end, compliance officers, accompanied by a suitably qualified expert will make a thorough assessment of the works that are in train, during the course of next week," he said.

Bushland covers thousands of hectares on Cape York near Laura, adjacent to Olive Vale Station.(ABC News)